The designer reinvents the gray felt chair he originally created for his New York boutique with a collection of one-off, boldly colored versions displayed at the Salon 94 gallery

FROM LEFT: An installation of the exhibition at Salon 94 and one of the individual chairs. Photography courtesy of Salon 94 (left) and Reed Krakoff (right)

When designer Reed Krakoff was preparing to open his first eponymous fashion boutique in 2010, he and his wife, Delphine, created a special chair to help furnish the space. A simple rectilinear form with a straight back, the chair was constructed with a plywood frame covered entirely in gray felt. “The idea of taking something geometric and then transposing it into something more organic and soft was playing with the concept of juxtaposing disparate ideas,” says Krakoff. “That’s a cornerstone of our brand identity.” He was also inspired by the German artist Joseph Beuys, who frequently incorporated felt into his work—including, Krakoff notes, once using it to cover a grand piano.

For a special exhibition timed to New York Fashion Week, Krakoff has pushed his felt chair’s design further by experimenting with color. “Reed Krakoff: One Chair,” on view through March 2 at the Salon 94 gallery’s Upper East Side space, features 99 chairs, each covered in a unique combination of gray and one other color—from white or black to fuchsia or electric green. “The form was consistent, but each chair has a distinct personality,” says Krakoff. “Some are minimalist and pure, while others are quite graphic or playful.” To capture their varied character, he also photographed the chairs individually for a limited-edition book—wrapped in a felt slipcase, of course—that he gave to guests at the show’s opening night dinner.

The chairs, which are installed in a grid across the gallery’s walls, are sold individually, though Krakoff thinks of them as telling a collective story. He’s pleased that some will stay together after the exhibition. “A few people have bought groups of chairs, and I was happy about that,” he says. “I like them alone, but the relationships between them are especially interesting.”

The chairs ($2,200 each) will continue to be available for purchase from Salon 94 after the show closes. salon94.com